This afternoon, Mark McAllister and Ben Jonah of Global Toronto invited me to cycle around the streets of Toronto, hoping to witness my bike carding tendencies in person. They wanted to understand how One Block North came to be. It was one of those Pinch Me moments!

We travelled along College, down Shaw, and into Trinity-Bellwoods Park. On College, Ben happened to spot the sweetest looking bike, so we stopped to inspect its accessories–OOQI grips, a head badge, a space creature horn, and bright pink-and-green paint. Even the pedals and the chain matched! Mark was so taken with it (and my comments on what a great story it obviously has) that he went into a few of the surrounding businesses until he found the bike`s owner!

Then and there, I interviewed Megan Kenny and her Space Bike.

And with that, Megan and I became good friends, over a bicycle.

Apart from the interview moment, Mark and Ben and I discussed infrastructure and bike safety, and we talked about the city’s cycling culture and how it compares to cultures in other cities. In the park, things slowed down considerably and we enjoyed sharing the path with dog walkers and families, squirrels and cyclists. I shared that I thought common courtesy is much easier because you can speak to everyone from the seat of a bike, building community. I also said that I felt anyone who doesn`t like something shouldn`t complain about it: just get on a bike. That won`t fix everything that`s wrong in your world, but it will go a long way to fixing many things.

Here are two of Mark`s tweets. Fun doesn’t begin to describe this ride!

To watch the video of our terrific adventure, watch Global Toronto tonight at 6. And if you miss it then, I bet they`ll load the story online at http://globalnews.ca/toronto/